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The Only Natural Park Land in St. George is about to be Paved Over

Go for a stroll next to the ferry terminal one day and look through the fence at the land about to be dug up and paved over for the Lighthouse Point development. Take a good look because you are about to see the last of St. George’s parkland for the last time. Is there any other natural hillside that goes from water level up to Bay Street or to Richmond

Rendering Lighthouse Point (credit: Triangle Equities)

Terrace anywhere else between the Verrazano Bridge and Snug Harbor? It is not a huge parcel of land, and unlike Empire Outlets and the New York Wheel, both going up on the other side of the ferry terminal, it is not a large project. Plans call for some street level shopping and a moderate sized hotel and a 12 story residential building. It is only three acres with some of that land already occupied by historic buildings which will be restored. Plans call for some open space, but if the preliminary plans are an indication, little of that will be green landscape. Details are here at NYCEDC

While the restoration of the historic structures is very welcome, the loss of open land in the heart of St. George is certainly not. One of the sad things about the urban landscape of St. George is that the beautiful hillside location has been paved over with no regard for the terrain, that the great potential of the hillside has never translated into beautiful parkland. Yet, here it is, and we are just giving it away to, what some might call, a mediocre development (though the final plans have yet to be revealed) without even a whimper of protest.